It’s wide open for Royal Porthcawl – Langer
DOUBLE US Masters champion Bernhard Langer heads to the scene of one of his greatest golfing triumphs at Royal Porthcawl this summer believing the famous old Mid Glamorgan links could stage a future Open Championship, writes Anthony Woolford.
The 59-year-old German scattered a star-studded field back in 2014 to win the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex by an amazing 13 shots at Porthcawl in a performance regarded by three-time Senior Open Champion Tom Watson as the best four rounds of golf played anywhere in the world that year.
And the 2004 Ryder Cup-winning captain admits he’s relishing a return to Wales this summer for the second staging of the Senior tournament over a course the 1985 and ‘93 green jacket wearer believes could host a future Open Championship.
It was thought when Porthcawl hosted the 2014 Senior Open that the tournament would prove to be a dryrun for a possible attempt to bring the Claret Jug extravaganza to Wales following the success of the 2010 Ryder Cup.
But with the Open Championship leaving English and Scottish shores in 2019 when it heads to Royal Portrush, in Northern Ireland, Open organisers the R&A have no plans to bring any new venues onto the tournament rota in the near future.
When asked about Porthcawl hosting an Open Championship, Langer said: “I think it is.
“It’s always tough when you play links golf because the wind usually blows.
“The course is definitely hard enough and they can set it up really difficult if they let the rough grow.
“They can make the fairways narrow, the course is long enough and they could maybe add a tee here or there if they needed to.
“But there’s no doubt in my mind that the course itself is definitely an Open Championship golf course.”
Langer remains a dominant force in Seniors golf having won 34 tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic since 2008, including three Senior Major Championships.
And in a chilling message to his rivals on the Welsh coast this summer he says his appetite for victory is as strong as ever.
“I haven’t lost the desire,” he said. “I can’t speak for my colleagues, but the guys who are still competing at our age have that fire in their belly. They are true champions. They like to win, otherwise they wouldn’t still be here competing.
“Many Americans have to fly across the pond, and they look forward to it because they love to compete and test themselves against the best in the world.”
Langer’s rounds of 65-66-68-67, which saw him win the 2014 Senior Open by 13 shots from fellow former Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie, prompted the glowing words from golfing superstar Watson.
“It means a lot coming from Tom Watson, who is the links course specialist,” said Langer.
“Everything came together that year, I drove the ball extremely well in the conditions we had.
“The fairways were firm and the ball was bouncing a lot. I drove it great. I putted well, making a number of long putts. I didn’t three-putt often, if at all. Combined with a decent iron game, it allowed me to move myself ahead of the field and, in the end, it was a wonderful march down the last few holes.
“Monty played some really good golf himself and, if I hadn’t been there, he would have won the Championship. That kind of form only happens once in a blue moon. I have been fortunate to have that in my career a few times.
Tickets are on sale now and hospitality packages are also available. For tickets and more information, visit www.senioropenchampionship.com or call 0800 023 2557.